IN REVIEW: Greg Puciato - "Mirrorcell"

 

When The Dillinger Escape Plan shut itself down about five years back, frontman Greg Puciato wasted no time continuing his sonic explorations; having already been a member of metal supergroup Killer Be Killed and electronic outfit The Black Queen, Puciato formed his own record label (Federal Prisoner) in 2018 to ensure an outlet for future material. The Black Queen's second album was released later in the year, followed by a book of poetry in 2019. The next year, Puciato's name would appear on two projects: Reluctant Hero, the excellent second record by Killer Be Killed, and Child Soldier: Creator of God, Puciato's official solo debut. That record was difficult for some to digest, sprawling out well over an hour and incorporating several styles both familiar and unfamiliar for fans; its palette was too wide and its presentation too wild, opening with a gentle, brief acoustic ballad before embarking on a journey that dabbles in electro-noise, Dillinger-like restless math-metal, grungy noise-rock, skittering new wave, doom, speedy power pop, orchestral balladry, shoegaze, EDM, industrial, chillwave, and many points in between. It was all impressive stuff but, without any sense of a central theme or focal point, it was the musical equivalent of an unattended fire hose, thrashing around uncontrollably with no clear goal or purpose.

Less than two years later Puciato returns with Mirrorcell, a record that scales back the run time and the scattershot approach considerably, making for a record that's much easier to grab onto. As for the sound, there is a fair amount of variety if you listen closely but much of what we hear can be traced back to Puciato's recent work with Jerry Cantrell; in late 2019, when Cantrell was performing his first solo concerts in fifteen years, Puciato was invited to perform both Cantrell's songs and those of Alice In Chains for a pair of shows. Puciato would later do background vocals on Brighten, Cantrell's 2021 solo record. It's not too surprising, then, that some of the doomier, grungier facets of Puciato's sound would take prevalence on Mirrorcell; Reality Spiral, No More Lives to Go and Never Wanted That, the first three songs on the record (following a brief instrumental intro) play like modern, slightly proggier takes on classic Alice In Chains material. You can practically hear Cantrell's voice harmonizing, especially on Never Wanted That, although if he is it's an uncredited appearance.

Mirrorcell's midsection starts to stretch out a bit with Lowered, a synth-infused new wave rocker that is full of hooks and features one of only two guest appearances on the album courtesy of Code Orange's Reba Meyers (aside from her vocals here and the drums by Poison the Well's Chris Hornbrook, everything you hear on Mirrorcell was performed by Puciato). At this point, we get the album's most prominent left turn with the electronic-infused, pop-leaning We; I like to imagine a trend of reaction videos emerging where unsuspecting people slap on headphones and chair-dance to We before being ambushed with, say, Fire For Water (or, if we're feeling particularly cheeky, almost anything from Dillinger Escape Plan; I vote for Sunshine the Werewolf). It's a little too airy for my tastes, but it's a well executed track that just proves how versatile Puciato is.

I, Eclipse takes things in a slower, more methodical direction, its dark groove propelled by its grimy bass line and Hornbrook's flavourful beat before opening up and growing in intensity as it lumbers toward a conclusion that borrows equally from Alice In Chains and Soundgarden (especially when that flange-soaked lead pops up in the closing seconds). Penultimate track Rainbows Underground leans back into AiC territory and features an especially layered and powerful vocal performance that elevates the song past any of the tropes one could tie it to, even when it pretty much morphs into a Dirt-era emotional tour de force at the halfway mark; it's a stunning turn on an album that, to this point, has already had its fair share of highlights, and when Puciato starts letting loose some of those classic Dillinger-era shrieks, it's icing on the cake.

What to say, then, about closing track All Waves to Nothing? Well, it's almost nine minutes long and starts out thunderous and cavernous like something from Badmotorfinger, with Puciato doing some vocal aerobics and showing off his full range within the first minute and change. Then, as Hornbrook locks into a groove and feedback swells, Puciato finds another gear before the song takes a break and then comes back even louder and more unhinged; by the time the song transitions into a thing of beauty, it's already been a journey and there's still over five minutes left. A gentle verse, a majestic and extended solo section, a disparate melodic verse, and a distorted and ominous riff all leading up to a furious, soaring closing two minutes that end the album with a triumphant... fade out? Truth be told, that fade out is the only thing that keeps All Waves to Nothing from my top three album highlights below; I just don't like them generally, but especially ending a great record such as this.

While it's only natural to miss a band as talented and artistically challenging as Dillinger, Mirrorcell proves that Greg Puciato is more than capable of providing the same thrills, albeit in a markedly different package. By cutting back on the restless exploration and mostly honing in on a vibe (Lowered and We are the outliers surrounded by music from the same headspace), Puciato's managed to create a coherent piece that still manages to surprise. Or maybe, to my ears, it's surprising because it's coherent? Either way, Mirrorcell lowers the degree of difficulty and should allow for more timid listeners and/or those who aren't ready to dive into something as thorny as Dillinger to experience what is truly one of our generation's most dynamic and impressive talents.

July 1, 2022 • Federal Prisoner

Highlights No More Lives to Go • Never Wanted That • Rainbows Underground